Climate and Average Weather Year Round in the United Kingdom

We show the climate in the United Kingdom by comparing the average weather in 4 representative places: London, Cardiff, Belfast, and Edinburgh.

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London
United Kingdom
Cardiff
United Kingdom
Belfast
United Kingdom
Edinburgh
United Kingdom
Map

Average High and Low Temperature in the United Kingdom

Average High and Low Temperature in the United KingdomJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec25°F25°F30°F30°F35°F35°F40°F40°F45°F45°F50°F50°F55°F55°F60°F60°F65°F65°F70°F70°F75°F75°F603974475769465437654552344333304229402638NowNowLondonLondonEdinburghEdinburghCardiffCardiff
The daily average high and low air temperature at 2 meters above the ground. The thin dotted lines are the corresponding perceived temperatures.
HighJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
London 47°F48°F52°F58°F63°F69°F73°F72°F67°F60°F53°F49°F
Cardiff 46°F46°F50°F55°F60°F65°F68°F68°F64°F57°F51°F47°F
Belfast 45°F46°F48°F53°F58°F62°F65°F64°F60°F55°F50°F46°F
Edinburgh 43°F45°F48°F52°F57°F62°F65°F65°F61°F55°F48°F44°F
LowJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
London 39°F39°F42°F45°F50°F55°F59°F59°F55°F50°F44°F41°F
Cardiff 38°F38°F40°F42°F48°F52°F56°F56°F53°F48°F43°F39°F
Belfast 37°F37°F38°F41°F45°F50°F53°F53°F50°F46°F41°F38°F
Edinburgh 34°F34°F36°F39°F43°F48°F51°F51°F48°F43°F38°F35°F

London

Average Hourly Temperature in LondonJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM12 AM4 AM4 AM8 AM8 AM12 PM12 PM4 PM4 PM8 PM8 PM12 AM12 AMNowNowvery coldvery coldcoldcoldcoolcomfortablevery coldvery cold

Cardiff

Average Hourly Temperature in CardiffJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM12 AM4 AM4 AM8 AM8 AM12 PM12 PM4 PM4 PM8 PM8 PM12 AM12 AMNowNowvery coldvery coldcoldcoldcoolcomfortable

Belfast

Average Hourly Temperature in BelfastJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM12 AM4 AM4 AM8 AM8 AM12 PM12 PM4 PM4 PM8 PM8 PM12 AM12 AMNowNowvery coldvery coldcoldcoldcool

Edinburgh

Average Hourly Temperature in EdinburghJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM12 AM4 AM4 AM8 AM8 AM12 PM12 PM4 PM4 PM8 PM8 PM12 AM12 AMNowNowvery coldvery coldcoldcoolcool
frigid 15°F freezing 32°F very cold 45°F cold 55°F cool 65°F comfortable 75°F warm 85°F hot 95°F sweltering
The average hourly temperature, color coded into bands. The shaded overlays indicate night and civil twilight.

Chance of Clearer Skies in the United Kingdom

Chance of Clearer Skies in the United KingdomJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0%0%10%10%20%20%30%30%40%40%50%50%60%60%70%70%80%80%90%90%100%100%582632503150NowNowLondonLondonEdinburghEdinburghBelfastBelfastCardiffCardiff
The percentage of time the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy (i.e., less than 60% of the sky is covered by clouds).
Clearer SkiesJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
London 29%35%37%44%46%51%57%54%50%42%32%28%
Cardiff 34%37%38%45%48%51%56%53%50%43%37%33%
Belfast 33%34%36%42%47%46%49%48%46%40%36%34%
Edinburgh 33%36%36%40%44%46%49%48%45%39%36%34%

Daily Chance of Precipitation in the United Kingdom

Daily Chance of Precipitation in the United KingdomJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0%0%10%10%20%20%30%30%40%40%50%50%60%60%70%70%80%80%90%90%100%100%32204224452738NowNowLondonLondonEdinburghEdinburghBelfastBelfastCardiffCardiff
The percentage of days in which precipitation is observed, excluding trace quantities.
Days of Precip.JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
London 9.1d7.1d7.0d6.5d7.3d7.6d6.9d6.7d7.1d9.4d9.2d9.4d
Cardiff 12.0d9.0d9.0d7.5d8.5d8.4d8.3d8.6d8.9d11.4d11.7d12.2d
Belfast 13.4d10.3d10.3d8.8d9.1d9.1d10.1d10.5d10.0d12.0d12.2d12.8d
Edinburgh 11.0d8.2d8.6d7.8d8.2d8.6d9.7d9.5d9.4d11.0d10.8d10.8d

Average Monthly Rainfall in the United Kingdom

Average Monthly Rainfall in the United KingdomJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0.0 in0.0 in0.5 in0.5 in1.0 in1.0 in1.5 in1.5 in2.0 in2.0 in2.5 in2.5 in3.0 in3.0 in3.5 in3.5 in2.21.23.21.61.82.61.5NowNowLondonLondonEdinburghEdinburghBelfastBelfastCardiffCardiff
The average rainfall accumulated over the course of a sliding 31-day period centered on the day in question.
RainfallJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
London 1.8″1.4″1.2″1.2″1.5″1.6″1.4″1.5″1.6″2.2″2.0″2.0″
Cardiff 2.8″2.1″1.9″1.6″1.8″1.9″1.9″2.0″2.2″3.0″3.1″3.0″
Belfast 2.9″2.3″2.1″1.9″1.9″2.1″2.1″2.5″2.6″3.2″3.1″3.0″
Edinburgh 2.0″1.6″1.6″1.6″1.6″1.8″2.2″2.3″2.1″2.6″2.3″2.1″

Hours of Daylight in the United Kingdom

Hours of Daylight in the United KingdomJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec4 hr4 hr6 hr6 hr8 hr8 hr10 hr10 hr12 hr12 hr14 hr14 hr16 hr16 hr18 hr18 hr20 hr20 hr16.67.817.37.3NowNowLondonLondonEdinburghEdinburghBelfastBelfastCardiffCardiff
The number of hours during which the Sun is at least partly above the horizon.
DaylightJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
London 8.4h10.0h11.9h13.9h15.7h16.6h16.1h14.5h12.6h10.6h8.9h7.9h
Cardiff 8.4h10.0h11.9h13.9h15.7h16.6h16.1h14.5h12.6h10.6h8.9h7.9h
Belfast 7.9h9.7h11.9h14.2h16.1h17.2h16.6h14.8h12.7h10.5h8.4h7.4h
Edinburgh 7.7h9.6h11.9h14.3h16.4h17.5h16.9h15.0h12.7h10.4h8.2h7.1h

Chance of Muggy Conditions in the United Kingdom

Chance of Muggy Conditions in the United KingdomJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0%0%10%10%20%20%30%30%40%40%50%50%60%60%70%70%80%80%90%90%100%100%NowNowLondonLondonBelfastBelfastCardiffCardiff
The percentage of time that is muggy, oppressive, or miserable (i.e., a dew point greater than 65°F).
Muggy daysJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
London 0.0d0.0d0.0d0.0d0.0d0.0d0.1d0.1d0.0d0.0d0.0d0.0d
Cardiff 0.0d0.0d0.0d0.0d0.0d0.0d0.1d0.1d0.0d0.0d0.0d0.0d
Belfast 0.0d0.0d0.0d0.0d0.0d0.0d0.0d0.0d0.0d0.0d0.0d0.0d
Edinburgh 0.0d0.0d0.0d0.0d0.0d0.0d0.0d0.0d0.0d0.0d0.0d0.0d

Average Wind Speed in the United Kingdom

Average Wind Speed in the United KingdomJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0 mph0 mph2 mph2 mph4 mph4 mph6 mph6 mph8 mph8 mph10 mph10 mph12 mph12 mph14 mph14 mph16 mph16 mph18 mph18 mph13.39.614.710.317.115.8NowNowLondonLondonEdinburghEdinburghBelfastBelfastCardiffCardiff
The average of mean hourly wind speeds at 10 meters above the ground.
Wind Speed (mph)JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
London 13.112.612.111.010.59.99.89.910.611.511.812.5
Cardiff 14.413.712.811.511.110.510.510.611.512.713.114.0
Belfast 16.916.014.912.912.011.110.911.513.214.615.516.1
Edinburgh 15.614.714.011.911.010.310.210.712.112.913.614.5

Average Water Temperature in the United Kingdom

Average Water Temperature in the United KingdomJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec40°F40°F45°F45°F50°F50°F55°F55°F60°F60°F65°F65°FNaN644557455742NowNowEdinburghEdinburghCardiffCardiff
The daily average wide-area surface water temperature.
Water Temp.JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Cardiff 46°F45°F45°F48°F53°F58°F62°F64°F62°F58°F53°F49°F
Belfast 48°F46°F46°F47°F49°F53°F56°F57°F57°F56°F53°F50°F
Edinburgh 44°F42°F43°F45°F49°F53°F56°F57°F56°F53°F50°F46°F

Tourism Score in the United Kingdom

Tourism Score in the United KingdomJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec002244668810107.10.45.70.1NowNowLondonLondonEdinburghEdinburghBelfastBelfastCardiffCardiff
The tourism score, which favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 65°F and 80°F.

Beach/Pool Score in the United Kingdom

Beach/Pool Score in the United KingdomJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec002244668810103.92.00.80.8NowNowLondonLondonEdinburghEdinburgh
The beach/pool score, which favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 75°F and 90°F.

Growing Season in the United Kingdom

Growing Season in the United KingdomJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0%0%20%20%40%40%60%60%80%80%100%100%NowNowLondonLondonEdinburghEdinburghBelfastBelfastCardiffCardiff
The percentage chance that a given day is within the growing season, defined as the longest continuous period of non-freezing temperatures (≥ 32°F) in the year (the calendar year in the Northern Hemisphere, or from July 1 until June 30 in the Southern Hemisphere).

Growing Degree Days in the United Kingdom

Growing Degree Days in the United KingdomJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec500°F500°F1,000°F1,000°F1,500°F1,500°F2,000°F2,000°F2,500°F2,500°FNowNowLondonLondonEdinburghEdinburghBelfastBelfastCardiffCardiff
The average growing degree days accumulated over the course of the year, where growing degree days are defined as the integral of warmth above a base temperature (50°F in this case).

Average Daily Incident Shortwave Solar Energy in the United Kingdom

Average Daily Incident Shortwave Solar Energy in the United KingdomJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0 kWh0 kWh1 kWh1 kWh2 kWh2 kWh3 kWh3 kWh4 kWh4 kWh5 kWh5 kWh6 kWh6 kWh7 kWh7 kWh6.40.65.85.80.4NowNowLondonLondonEdinburghEdinburghBelfastBelfastCardiffCardiff
The average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground per square meter.
Solar Energy (kWh)JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
London 0.81.72.94.65.76.36.25.33.82.21.10.7
Cardiff 0.81.62.94.55.76.36.25.23.82.21.10.7
Belfast 0.61.32.54.15.35.75.54.53.21.80.80.5
Edinburgh 0.51.22.43.95.35.75.54.53.11.70.70.4

This report illustrates the typical weather for London, Cardiff, Belfast, and Edinburgh year round, based on a statistical analysis of historical hourly weather reports and model reconstructions from January 1, 1980 to December 31, 2016.

The details of the data sources used on this page vary between places and are discussed in detail on each place's dedicated page:

Disclaimer

The information on this site is provided as is, without any assurances as to its accuracy or suitability for any purpose. Weather data is prone to errors, outages, and other defects. We assume no responsibility for any decisions made on the basis of the content presented on this site.

We draw particular cautious attention to our reliance on the MERRA-2 model-based reconstructions for a number of important data series. While having the tremendous advantages of temporal and spatial completeness, these reconstructions: (1) are based on computer models that may have model-based errors, (2) are coarsely sampled on a 50 km grid and are therefore unable to reconstruct the local variations of many microclimates, and (3) have particular difficulty with the weather in some coastal areas, especially small islands.

We further caution that our travel scores are only as good as the data that underpin them, that weather conditions at any given location and time are unpredictable and variable, and that the definition of the scores reflects a particular set of preferences that may not agree with those of any particular reader.

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